Team Penske driver Josef Newgarden plays with campers from the Camp SeriousFun program earlier this year in California. Newgarden is IndyCar's ambassador to SeriousFun, its new charitable partner.(Photo: Photo by Brian Simpson)

INDIANAPOLIS -- Mario Andretti is absolutely sure of it. Of all that Paul Newman accomplished during his legendary life, from his incredible acting career to the tremendous success he enjoyed on racetracks around the world, if Newman could be remembered for one thing and one thing only, he would choose his legacy of giving.

“He was the ultimate philanthropist,” Andretti said of Newman, who’s Newman’s Own food company gives 100 percent of its after-tax profits to charity. “He had a golden heart. ... That’s one part of Paul that was just tremendous, and it’s wonderful that IndyCar is embracing that again."

IndyCar announced Friday that it became a charitable partner of SeriousFun Children’s Network, a group with roots that trace to one of Newman’s proudest philanthropic passion projects: The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp.

Established in 1988, Newman opened the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in Ashford, Conn., as a place children with serious medical conditions could forget about their troubles for awhile and just be a kid. In Newman’s own words, it was a place where they could kick back and “raise a little hell.”

“It was a need he could fill and something that really resonated with him,” said Newman’s daughter, Clea Newman, an ambassador for SeriousFun. “He felt very lucky in his life, and he really wanted to take on a big issue. Seriously ill children was something that touched his heart. This was a way to touch these children and their families after the diagnosis and try to give the back their childhood and who they were before their illness.”

Thirty years later, that charitable enterprise has grown to 30 camps around the world that impacts the lives of hundreds of thousands of kids and their families, free of charge. Actually, Clea Newman said, the group recently just helped their one millionth family.

While Paul Newman used to enjoy fishing with the kids and getting into food fights, the camps are more than just about fun. They are carefully designed to help instill confidence, independence and resilience in children who are so often told no in their day-to-day lives.

IndyCar Series driving champ Josef Newgarden promo for SeriousFun camps, an extension of the program started by actor, racing and series team owner Paul Newman.
SeriousFun

“They get to do everything,” Clea Newman said. “There's nothing like seeing a kid in a wheel chair go down a zip line. ...These kids spend all of their time in the hospital being told all of the things they can’t do. Here, it’s about what they can do. There’s nothing they can’t do. Everything is intentional. Everything is customized around these kids so they really can have some fun.

"We’re trying to create a program where not only kids can get back to being kids, but that can grow a support system and make friends. Sometimes, it even reboots the family a little bit. I’ve had parents tell me, ‘When our child was diagnosed, we lost the kid we knew. But after being at camp for a week, the kid we got back in is the kid we remembered.’ It really is extraordinary."

Now partners with IndyCar, the camp also allows for kids to visit IndyCar tracks and spend time with teams and drivers. Nine families were in attendance for the weekend's IndyCar Grand Prix, and there are more trips to tracks planned for later in the year.

The first engagement between these two groups, though, took place a couple of months ago ahead of the IndyCar Grand Prix of Long Beach, where local campers visited the track and hung out for nearly two hours with reigning IndyCar champion Josef Newgarden. They ran around the track, tried on his helmet and got a close look at his Indy car.

"They just got to be kids," Newgarden said with a smile. "It was like being at camp at the racetrack. I think they had a blast. I know I did for sure."

Newgarden, IndyCar's ambassador to SeriousFun, said he is thrilled IndyCar has aligned with the charity. Not only is the partnership a natural fit because of Newman's IndyCar roots, but because he feels very similarly to the way Newman felt when he started this camp.

While he was alive, Newman often said he felt very lucky and wanted to find ways to give back. Newgarden said he has reached that point in his life, too. He had been looking into starting a foundation, but when IndyCar approached him about serving as ambassador to SeriousFun, he knew that was the right fit.

"I’m a big fan of what they do," said Newgarden. "I love their program. I love their mission statement. I love why they’re doing it. And I feel like I'm at a point in my life where I can do more."

Tim Cindric, president of Team Penske, in the pit box of driver Josef Newgarden during Verizon IndyCar qualifications for the IndyCar Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 11, 2018. Matt Kryger/IndyStar

Team Penske driver Josef Newgarden sits in his car waiting for the Verizon IndyCar qualifications for the IndyCar Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 11, 2018. Matt Kryger/IndyStar

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports James Hinchcliffe (5) locks up his brakes as he slides into the first turn during practice for the IndyCar Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 11, 2018. Peter Fanning/For IndyStar

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports James Hinchcliffe (5) spins his rear tires after he spun in the turn one during practice for the IndyCar Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 11, 2018. Peter Fanning/For IndyStar

Tim Cindric, president of Team Penske, in the pit box of driver Josef Newgarden during Verizon IndyCar qualifications for the IndyCar Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 11, 2018. Matt Kryger/IndyStar

Tim Cindric, president of Team Penske, in the pit box of driver Josef Newgarden during Verizon IndyCar qualifications for the IndyCar Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 11, 2018. Matt Kryger/IndyStar